Read the full article by Erica Brown Grivas on The Seattle Times website. Start reading below…
Douglas fir forests dominate Western Washington, but for thousands of years, prairies and oak savannas covered 180,000 acres of this land. Those native prairies supported generations of Indigenous peoples, but today, as little as 3% of the prairies remain, much of which has been invaded by non-native flora.
Washington conservationists are supporting and restoring native prairies to combat vanishing biodiversity and reestablish fading links to Indigenous culture and nature. This is a perennial campaign, but the month of May, when the native camas blooms, is a particularly good time to celebrate these landscapes, which support endangered and threatened species of flora and fauna, including several species of butterflies.
On May 13, Prairie Appreciation Day, volunteers can document biodiversity at Glacial Heritage Preserve in Thurston County, a remnant of Mima Prairie, on the single day annually visitors are allowed in the area. This Prairie Appreciation Day push is one example of statewide efforts to support biodiversity and restore areas with native prairies and oaks to their former glory.
But advocates say the process of restoring existing landscapes is slow-growing, and it’s not enough to counteract accelerating species loss.
“If we only restore sites that used to be something, we’re really limited in what we can do,” said David Perasso, a Washington conservationist and former landscaper who is restoring native oaks in his South Seattle neighborhood. “Habitat doesn’t have to be exactly what it was in 1850. We have to think about creating habitat, period. We need it.”
